I am petrified of what the future holds with fuel costs, I am having a battle with N power as we speak, as they have informed me that my monthly direct debit of £70.00 a month will need to go up to £281.00 a month to pay off arrears!!! I have been in my property for 2 years and 9 times out of 10 always use the automated system for recording meter readings, as with most people I am out at work so never in to let the electrician in to read the meter.

They have now informed me that my meter has a daytime and a night time rate of which I have never been accurately charged for!! It was news to me that my meter had a small black button on which I need to press to get a second reading I have never been asked for a second reading in all of the 2 years I have been here so wasnt even aware it existed untill last month when the automated service asked me to supply a second reading? So I am now in discussions with Npower to try and get this sorted , how on earth can they expect me to pay all this outstanding amount and increase our charges?!!! I wont be able to afford my rent if this cannot be solved. Utterly ridiculous

1I think the latest round of energy increases is shocking, but I do think that some people heat their houses unnecessarily. We hardly ever put our heating on until at least November and turn it off by April.We all put extra clothes on when we are chilly not the central heating and we live in a cold victorian house. Our thermometer hardly ever reads over 17C in the winter, which may seem cold, but I can remember having ice on the inside of our windows when we were children and it never harmed us!

I have turned off my gas combi boiler. The only gas I'm using is for my cooker. I am using the cooker to boil the water for the dishes, but one soup pot holds enough water to do the dishes for the day, so we 'save' the dishes up to make it worthwhile. I really don't know what's going to happen when it gets cold, apart from extra clothes (obviously). Last winter quarter my gas bill was £400, add this years rises onto that and it becomes over £700. Even on a 'quiet' quarter the bill was over £200, and that wasn't using any heating. Which, by the way, only went on for one hour in the morning and two hours in the evening, anyway.
Electricity has gone from £5 per week on the key meter to £25 in just over 18 months. That has been dealt with by only using the washing machine with a full load, switching off lights, appliances, etc at the socket. I have energy saver bulbs all through the house. As an appliance has died, I've replaced it with the most energy efficient I can afford (A+ if possible). Now, I'm not a pensioner, and I do work, only 5 hours a day, 4 days a week, in a Garden centre. It's dirty, heavy, wet, miserable at times. But at others it's the best job in the world...but my employer doesn't want any more full timers. My husband is in the RFA and away for up to 8 months a year. I have 2 sons who've just finished with education as they don't want to be saddled with enormous debts at the end of it, but, for all the jobs they've applied for, about two thirds don't even bother to say 'no thanks, no vacancies'. So they've no money coming in and I still have to keep two adults on no extra money, (in fact LESS as working families tax credit and child benefit has stopped). They've applied for jobseekers over a month ago and there's a'glitch in the payment system'....isn't there always?.... and received nothing. And it makes me bitter that because I've been sensible and stuck by the rules all my life, I'm the one who has to pay for it in higher taxes etc, while lawbreakers, criminals, irresponsible parents, all get the best help and treatment that I have to pay extra for. Where is the justice in that?.

it will be very hard for me as i am cold all the time even in the summer i have to have my heating on.

British Gas was the second major energy provider to hike prices in less than a week and the four other energy giants are likely to follow suit in the near future. What will this latest round of price hikes mean for you?